Lou Engle: Crazier, More Dishonest, and More Dangerous Than You Knew

The motto for anti-gay conservative leaders lately seems to be, “When in backwards Third World societies, relax and be how you really are.” Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family, just got back from Uganda, where he was researching his new book, and apparently was able to spend a lot of time with the authors and supporters of Uganda’s genocidal anti-gay bill. He also went to see the Uganda touring cast for Lou Engle’s thoroughly bizarre performance art piece, “The Call.” In a post at Warren Throckmorton’s blog, he shares some of his experiences:

Either Lou Engle isn’t telling the whole truth, or some of his key allies in Uganda aren’t. I attended his rally in Kampala in the company of Member of Parliament David Bahati, the author of the bill. After the rally, I rode with Bishop Oyet and Bahati in Bahati’ car to the Sheraton hotel, where I interviewed Oyet for about 45 minutes, recorded. I’ll be writing about what I learned in Kampala in my forthcoming book, but Engle’ latest statement prompts some points worth making in the meantime:

1. Both Oyet and Bahati were ecstatic at what they perceived as Engle’ strong support of the bill. They felt his rally and his statements would be a turning point for the bill, reassuring their Ugandan allies that they had support abroad.

2. Both Oyet and Bahati told me that Engle had explicitly expressed his support for the bill, telling them that he had to lie to the Western media because gays control it. They said he said one thing to the BBC and then walked over to Bahati and said that he really supported the bill. Either Engle isn’t telling the whole truth, or Oyet and Bahati aren’t. I tend to believe Bahati here, since Engle didn’t mean anything to him until he met him that day. He hadn’t heard of him and decided to attend the rally only after I’d told him a few things about Engle. In other words, he left the rally thrilled with Engle based on that encounter with Engle alone. Clearly, Engle did something to please him.

We are so surprised that Lou Engle lies when he’s around the modern, educated people. Really, we are.

Here, the backwards bishop decides to tell the world how backward his country really is:

5. Here’ Oyet on the death penalty: “There is not the death penalty at the end for everybody. There is the death penalty at the end for aggravated homosexuality.” He explained that the death penalty already applies for four crimes in Uganda (child rape, treason, murder, and causing death by female genital mutilation) “So I want the world to understand,” Oyet continued “that homosexuality is not the first death penalty in Uganda. I think that U.S. journalists should make that known. It is not the first one, it is going to be the fifth one.”

They’re not just ignorant, cloistered and backward. They’re FIVE TIMES ignorant, cloistered and backward!

6. Oyet seems to be quite confused about what homosexuality actually is. After he explained that he was engaged in spiritual warfare with homosexuality, I asked whether he believed homosexuals are demonically possessed.

Oyet: “Um, because it is abnormal. It is abnormal sex, you would say yes. You would say yes. Because one drives you to that. Because homosexuals, they would now eat their own feces. They would eat their own waste. That is what they call golden shower where you lick the anus of someone. Isn’t that demonic?”

That’s a dumb demon if it is, because he’s doing it wrong. Do demons not have access to Urban Dictionary? I mean, really.

There is so much more that I didn’t excerpt, and you should read it all. These people are weird, easily led, and obviously brainwashed. They live in a society where few have access to correct information, and those who do are hellbent on making sure their population stays as stupid as possible. It’s quite sad, really.

And Lou Engle, American, is all too willing to help.

I’ll update when Peter LaBarbera starts bitching about how Warren Throckmorton is being mean to genocidal demagogues by letting an actual journalist like Jeff Sharlet report via his blog. So, about thirty minutes?

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5 Comments

“That is what they call golden shower where you lick the anus of someone.”

Whaaaat. No. Go back and try again.

“When I asked why it was ok for them [American church leaders] to lie, he said “I do not judge these kind of people.”

Of course you don’t… Just like the rest of the fundies, you throw out that part about sins being equally bad (except for when you get accused of being a bigot, anyway, and then sins are equally bad), and turn a blind eye toward un-Christlike behavior from church leaders, while indulging in your hate for a group that you don’t like for stupid reasons. It’s not about sin, it’s about things that you personally find icky.

It’s interesting that being forbidden from bearing false witness is part of the Ten Commandments, but being forbidden from being gay isn’t.

“If I would be killed because I am dying scripturally I can repent to God before I am killed but [if] I am [eliminated] from the Earth that’ ok…”

And there you go. It’s okay to kill people unjustly, because it’s just killing their bodies, nevermind that you can’t substantiate that claim at all, and it’s still wrong to kill unjustly.

BooJune 16, 2010 at 5:59 am -

There’s absolutely no excuse for their ignorance and actions, but some of this language is starting to border on racism. What’s going on in Uganda now is actually quite similar to the satanic ritual abuse panic that swept the US not so long ago, and that involved a lot of “modern, educated people” in the forward First World.

Richard RushJune 16, 2010 at 8:35 am -

Jeff Sharlet: “Both Oyet and Bahati told me that Engle had explicitly expressed his support for the bill, telling them that he had to lie to the Western media because gays control it.”

I remember a website that had a side-by-side listing of the talking points used against gays and those once used against Jews. The similarity was amazing. I had the site bookmarked, but I think that site was taken down.

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